As an independent recording artist, do you think of your music as a service or as a product? When the phonograph debuted in 1877, the traditional service of music (live performance) was transformed into a product (recordings). This product was stored on physical media — wax cylinders that eventually evolved into vinyl records, 8-tracks, cassettes, CDs, digital downloads,...

Music streaming services such as Spotify, Rhapsody, Pandora, and Napster are sharing your music with the masses — and you haven’t had to do a thing to make it happen. And that’s great, right? People are hearing your songs and you’re getting paid every time they do. What’s not to like? Plenty, unfortunately. Unlike music...